By Chuck Martin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Chef Maggie Green (left) "examines" Sylvia Allen's turkey. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

For many cooks and hosts, Thanksgiving is the most important and often most stressful meal of the year. It can be even more stressful if a new or traditional dish doesn't turn out right.

So who do you call when your Thanksgiving meal is ailing? The Thanksgiving Doctor, of course.

We enlisted chef Maggie Green as our Thanksgiving Doctor and asked readers to tell us about their chronic holiday food afflictions. We chose three cases and then followed Dr. Green as she made house calls to heal her patients' Thanksgiving meals.

Case No. 1, unmolding a gelatin salad Tina Bascom of Madeira wants to serve her mother's Frosty Pineapple Salad, made with lime gelatin, walnuts and cheese, at Thanksgiving this year. When she's made it, though, Bascom has had trouble unmolding the salad without it falling apart. And this year, her mother, Carol Aronis, is out-of-town and won't be able to help.

Treatment: The Thanksgiving Doctor recommends a multistep approach to unmold gelatin salads easily and beautifully:

• Allow gelatin to chill and thicken slightly before folding in other ingredients.

• Spray inside of mold lightly with vegetable oil spray before adding gelatin.

• Chill gelatin salad thoroughly (24 hours) before attempting to unmold.

CALL AN EXPERT

Our Thanksgiving Doctor can't make house calls for everyone. So if you have last-minute cooking questions, here are experts to consult: • U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline: (888) 674-6854; www.fsis.usda.gov. (Open: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, except Thanksgiving - 8 a.m.-2 p.m.) • Butterball Turkey Talk-Line: (800) 288-8372; www.butterball.com. (Open: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. today; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.) • Foster Farms Turkey Helpline: (800) 255-7227; www.fosterfarms.com. (Open: 24 hours daily through Thanksgiving.) • www.landolakes.com (Web site only)

THE DOCTOR

A Lexington native, Maggie Green studied nutrition at the University of Kentucky and earned a culinary degree from Sullivan College in Louisville. In 1995, she started Green Apron - a company that prepares home meals for clients with special nutrition needs. As a member of Chefs Collaborative, the Fort Wright resident has worked to make it easier for chefs to buy food products from local growers.

• Before unmolding, run tip of butter knife around edges of mold. Then dip bottom of mold briefly (about 30 seconds) in very warm water.

• Finally, place plate or platter on top of mold and invert on counter. If necessary, gently pull one side of mold out slightly with your finger to allow air in, which should help loosen and dislodge gelatin.

Result: It required two dips in warm water, but Green successfully unmolded the gelatin salad without any tears or collapsed edges. Bascom says it looked just as good as Mom's.

Tips from the doctor:

• To prevent lumps from forming in the salad, substitute ice for part or all of the cold water and add to the hot gelatin mixture. Stir until ice melts and gelatin begins to thicken. Then fold in remaining salad ingredients.

• If salad doesn't budge from mold, dip bottom again in warm water. Don't force it from mold.

• Before unmolding salad, arrange lettuce leaves on top of mold. Place plate or platter on top of lettuce and invert on counter.

• To prevent last-minute stress, unmold salad up to several hours

ahead, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until just before serving. This also may make cutting and serving the salad easier.

CASE NO. 2, KEEPING COOKED-AHEAD TURKEY MOIST: Years ago, Sylvia Allen of Glendale heard chef Paul Sturkey on a radio show describe a method for roasting the turkey a day ahead, then wrapping it in lettuce to keep it moist until serving. She wants to be able to cook her turkey ahead and quickly reheat it to save last-minute hassle.

Treatment: The Thanksgiving Doctor admits she never had heard of wrapping roasted turkey in lettuce. So Green consulted Sturkey, owner of Sturkey's in Wyoming and Encore Cafe in West Chester Township and Mason.

During her house call to Allen's kitchen, Green demonstrated this curious "turkey lettuce-wrap."

• It's best to roast turkey two days before serving. Allow the bird to cool thoroughly (up to two hours) at room temperature. Reserve drippings and refrigerate. Seal roasted turkey with foil or plastic and refrigerate overnight.

• The next day (one day before serving), cut breast off bone into two pieces. Cut off wings, thighs and legs. Slice breast against grain into serving-size pieces, but don't cut meat all the way through.

Wash and dry large romaine lettuce leaves (you'll need about two large heads of lettuce for a 12- to 14-pound turkey). Cut tough stems or ribs from lettuce leaves. Place lettuce lengthwise, slightly overlapping, flat on counter or cutting board. Roll lettuce around turkey breast. Wrap each portion tightly in aluminum foil. Repeat process with thighs, wings and drumsticks.

Place foil-wrapped turkey in large roasting pan (you may need more than one), seam-side down. Pour in enough drippings and/or broth until about 1/3 of pan is full. Cover pan with more foil and refrigerate until an hour before serving.

To serve: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat turkey in pans until warm, about 35 minutes.

Results: Allen waited until the next day to heat the turkey, as directed, and serve it. The turkey was moist and delicious. "You could fool anyone with this method," she says.

Tips from the doctor:

• If using a frozen turkey, make sure you allow enough time for it to thaw properly, about one day in the refrigerator for every four pounds of turkey.

• Use a meat thermometer to make sure you don't undercook or overcook the turkey. When done, the thermometer should register 170 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the thigh.

• To keep turkey as moist as possible, it's important to chill the turkey thoroughly before cutting.

CASE NO. 3, VEGETARIAN MAIN DISH: Julia Struntz of Fairfield is a vegetarian who eats Thanksgiving dinner with other vegetarians. This year, she'd like to make a new main dish (but not tofurky). Struntz is looking for something she can assemble quickly or cook ahead.

Prescription: Mushroom & Lentil-Nut Loaf with Cranberry-Onion-Red Wine Sauce. Green likes this recipe, which she found at www.vegetarian.about.com, because it's made with seasonal vegetables and fruit, including fresh cranberries. If not a vegetarian main course, she thinks it will make a tasty side dish to a traditional turkey meal.

Result: Struntz agrees the mushroom loaf is easy to make - the vegetables and nuts are chopped together in a food processor before sauteing briefly. She also likes how the loaf can be assembled ahead and cooked in the oven before dinner.

Struntz gave a thumbs up to the flavor and texture of the loaf. But she's not sure she likes the accompanying cranberry sauce, which is different from traditional sweet Thanksgiving cranberry sauces like her mom makes.

Tips from the doctor:

• Lining the loaf pan with parchment paper is important to prevent the crust from becoming tough and crunchy.

• The mushroom loaf can be made in a shallow pan, but you will probably need to reduce the baking time.

If you want to make it ahead, Green says it's best to assemble the loaf in the pan, refrigerate it and bake just before serving. If you try to bake it ahead and rewarm it, it may become dry.